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EMPiRE
]] ]] ]] ]] ]] EMPiRE are a Japanese idol group formed in August 2017 as a collaboration between WACK and Japanese record label Avex. Members * YU-Ki EMPiRE (Founding member) * MAYU EMPiRE (Founding member * MiDORiKO EMPiRE (Founding Member) * MAHO EMPiRE (Joined 2018) * MiKiNA EMPiRE (Joined 2018) * NOW EMPiRE (Joined 2019) Former Members * YUiNA EMPiRE (Founding member, transferred to BiS, May 1st, 2018) * YUKA EMPiRE (Founding member, graduated March 4th, 2019) History 2017 On March 31st 2017, it was announced at the WACK EXHiBiTiON that the BiS, BiSH and GANG PARADE joint audition finalists YU-Ki EMPiRE and YUKA EMPiRE would be chosen as members for a new collaborative group between WACK and Avex Trax, the record company that BiSH (and previously, BiS) were signed to. The group was given the temporary name "Project AW" and auditions opened for more members. Girls who had failed the previous WACK audition were especially encouraged to audition for this upcoming project. The completed Project AW, now known officially as "EMPiRE", was revealed on August 23rd. The members' names were announced as YU-Ki EMPiRE, YUKA EMPiRE, MAYU EMPiRE, MiDORiKO EMPiRE and YUiNA EMPiRE, however, their faces were obscured by hoods until each member reached 10000 followers on Twitter. When YUiNA was the first member to reach this target, the goal was increased to 20000 in response to fans purchasing bot accounts to reach the goal faster. When all the members faces were finally unveiled, it was revealed that as well as the two members announced at WACK EXHiBiTiON, MAYU and YUiNA were also finalists from the joint audition. In late 2017, EMPiRE appeared on the WACK & SCRAMBLES WORKS album, along with all other WACK artists. 2018 EMPiRE began broadcasting a monthly radio show, FREE ALL EMPiRE, on FM Fuji from January 31st. In March 2018, another joint audition was held, resulting in the additions of MAHO EMPiRE and MiKiNA EMPiRE. It was also announced that YUiNA EMPiRE would be permanently transferred to BiS. EMPiRE's debut album, THE EMPiRE STRiKES START!! was released April 11th. During YUiNA's final show with EMPiRE, their first mini-album, EMPiRE originals was announced. EMPiRE originals was released in August, with a limited one day only iTunes release of the NEXT EDiTiON of THE EMPiRE STRiKES START!!, their debut album re-recorded featuring the new members. Limited edition versions of the release also came with a cassette version of the NEXT EDiTiON which also featured a digital download of their cover of BiSH-星が瞬く夜に-. Music videos for the titular track and S.O.S were released as promo for the mini-album. 2019 EMPiRE released their debut single, Pierce, in January 2019. While originally scheduled for February, it was pushed forward a month after it was announced as an ending theme to the anime Fairy Tail. On January 29th, EMPiRE announced a 24 hour live to take place on March 3rd to 4th. At the same time, YUKA announced that she would graduate from EMPiRE, in order to concentrate on studying. YUKA graduated from EMPiRE at their 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE live on March 4th. Immediately afterward, EMPiRE released a digital single, SELFiSH PEOPLE, for free on their website for 24 hours. On March 23rd, EMPiRE announced their second single, SUCCESS STORY, on Twitter. During the announcement, they also announced a "Brand-new EMPiRE" with a change in sound and image. A week later, NOW was revealed as a new member, following another joint WACK Audition. In September, EMPiRE debuted their second single RiGHT NOW along with it's b-side NEVER ENDiNG at their "THE END OF SUMMER at OKiNAWA with EMPiRE" live before releasing the music video at midnight along with both songs as a pre-release before the official release in October. In October, EMPiRE announced that RiGHT NOW would be an opening theme for anime Black Clover who the group had previously supplied and ED for with Black to the Dreamlight. On the 20th of October, EMPiRE debuted a new song and unveiled the album title as the GREAT JOURNEY ALBUM at their first free live "EMPiRE'S GREAT PARTY vol.0". After the event, fans were invited to come to a hide and seek event where if they caught the girls, they would be allowed to listen to the new album in it's entirety during a limo ride. November 3rd saw the start of the GREAT JOURNEY ALBUM's promo, with the music video for Have it my way dropping and the announcement that the special edition of the release would come with a live album and a rerecording of SELFiSH PEOPLE as a bonus track. The GREAT JOURNEY ALBUM was eventually released on December 18th, 2019. Discography * See EMPiRE Discography Publications Radio * 2018.01.31-present FREE ALL EMPiRE (FM Fuji) Trivia * As of 2018 they are the only WACK unit to not have an indies period and launch immediately on a major label. * Prior to NOW joining the name of every single member in the group began with either an M or a Y. * The idol group started by EMPiRE, members no longer use Role and Member Color. External Links * Official Twitter * Official Website * Official Soundcloud Category:2017 Additions Category:Groups Category:YU-Ki EMPiRE Featured In Category:YUKA EMPiRE Featured In Category:YUiNA EMPiRE Featured In Category:MAYU EMPiRE Featured In Category:MAHO EMPiRE Featured In Category:MiDORiKO EMPiRE Featured In Category:NOW EMPiRE Featured In